Need help with itinerary

Hi there!

I will be arriving at Narita on July 13th and will stay there for an entire week. So on July 20th, I will activate my 7 day JR Pass by making a 1 way trip from Tokyo to Nagoya where my friend is staying. From July 21st and onwards, I want to use my JR pass to the fullest. My interest is in basically anything whether it be temples, historical sights and especially food. Also, I will be going to Osaka for 4 days near the end of my trip so I wonft be needing to go to Osaka during this period of time. This is my rough itinerary so far. Oh and please keep in mind these will be day trips since I will be sleeping at my friends dormitory in Nagoya.

July 20th – Nagoya
July 21st – Kyoto & Nara
July 22nd – Hiroshima & Shiminoseki
July 23rd – Kanazawa
July 24th to 26th - ??
So now I have 2 questions.
1) Is this a realistic itinerary?
2) Any other cities in Central/Western part of Japan that I should visit to fill up my other 2 days? I was thinking of visiting Fukuoka as well for a day.

Thanks =D

1) Is this a realistic itinerary?
NOT AT ALL! 5 cities for 3 days... it's horrible!

You need to take into account the time it takes to travel between places. Travel time not only takes away from your sightseeing when you get there but it is also tiring.
Nagoya – Kanazawa is 2.5hours each way, thats 5 hours of travelling time in one day.
Nagoya – Fukuoka is 3.5 hours each way, that is way too far for a day trip in my opinion.
Nagoya – Shimonoseki is also 3.5 hours each way.

I think you should allocate a whole day in Kyoto, maybe 2 whole days. There are loads of places to see there.

Nagoya to Hiroshima is 2.5 hours. I think you should spend a whole day there and also visit Miyajima if you leave Nagoya early enough in the morning.

If I were you I would skip Fukuoka and Shimonoseki (they are too far away), and add in an extra day in Kyoto, Miyajima, Kobe and Himeji castle.

This is what I would do:
20th – Tokyo to Nagoya
21st – Kanazawa
22nd – Nara
23rd – Kyoto
24th – Kyoto
25th – Hiroshima and Miyajima
26th – Kobe and Himeji

On whatever days you like.

You are still doing heaps in this time so you will be exhausted. Perhaps it will be ok if you are used to fast paced travel but I wouldn't be doing so much in so little time if I were you.

Thanks for the detailed response AusEz. I may actually follow your plan exactly since it seems way more realistic then my previous plan. I know in fact it will be a very tiring week for me but I'm still young... so sleeping in an internet cafe or Mcdonalds should be no problem for me should I feel dead tired haha.